Method of manufacturing and providing lithography on metal closures

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates generally to manufacturing metallic closures from a continuous coil of a pre-coated sheet metal material. More specifically, the present invention relates to manufacturing closures adapted for interconnection to a threaded neck of a container using a continuous coil of pre-coated aluminum sheet material. In one embodiment, marketing indicia or product information may be applied to the closures after formation of the closures.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/856,352 filed Jul. 19, 2013, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing metal closures. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus which receives a continuous coil of pre-coated aluminum sheet material to form Roll On Pilfer Proof (ROPP) closures. The ROPP closures may optionally be decorated with marketing indicia or product information after the ROPP closures are formed.

BACKGROUND

Metal ROPP closures which are adapted for interconnection to a threaded neck of a container are well known in the metal container industry. The exterior top, sidewall, and interior top of ROPP closures are frequently decorated with brand names, logos, designs, product information, and/or other preferred indicia. The existing process of manufacturing and decorating ROPP closures starts with a coil of uncoated metal which is cut into a number of individual sheets. The individual sheets are coated and/or decorated and may be cured multiple times. The sheets are then sent to a cupping press which cuts individual blanks or discs from the sheets and forms the blanks into cups. The cups are subsequently formed into ROPP closures.

There are several disadvantages with the existing process. First, the existing method results in a significant inventory of work-in-progress that must be stored while the closures are being decorated and formed. Second, the process requires the use of cut sheets of metal as opposed to using a continuous roll or coil of metal material. The manufacturer can purchase a coil of metal and cut it into sheets, but cutting the coil takes time and adds a step to the process. Alternatively, the manufacturer can purchase pre-cut sheets from a metal supplier, but suppliers generally charge more for pre-cut sheets than for an equivalent amount of material in an uncut coil. Further, using the existing process, the manufacturer must cure the cut sheets in wicket ovens multiple times which further increases the production time and expense for the manufacturer.

In some instances, a large amount of scrap is created by the existing process. More specifically, each coil of metal is cut into 1,000 individual sheets and 210 cups are cut from each sheet yielding up to 210,000 cups from each coil. However, in practice fewer than 210,000 cups are actually produced from each coil because greater than 2%, and sometimes as much as 10%, of process scrap is produced at several different points in the process.

First, a large amount of scrap is produced when a sheet printer/coater is set up and calibrated to apply a coating required to form a label or other indicia. The sheet printer/coater must be calibrated before each particular coating is applied to the individual cut sheets. The color, ink thickness, and print pressure of each coating must be adjusted to ensure the final decoration of the finished closure has a proper light to dark transition and a correct amount of decoration. The sheet printer/coater may also be adjusted to ensure each coating is printed in the correct location on the cut sheet. Calibrating colors and other coatings across a full length and width of the entire cut sheet is very difficult, and unfortunately one or more of the metal sheets must be passed through the sheet printer/coater to calibrate each coating. Each cut sheet used to calibrate the sheet printer/coater becomes scrap metal and thus, each cut sheet used for calibration in this known process results in a loss of approximately 210 cups. Because the final decoration may require five or more coatings, the sheet printer/coater may require five separate calibrations to produce the final decoration, resulting in a significant amount of scrap.

More scrap is created when the individual cut metal sheets are run through the cupping press. The decorated cut sheets must be properly registered with respect to the tools inside the cupping press. If a decorated sheet is not properly aligned and centered with the cupping press, or if the decorations on the sheet were not printed in the correct location on the sheet, the lithography will not be centered on the cup and all of the cups cut from the sheet will be defective. Each cut sheet that is not properly aligned with the cupping press results in a loss of approximately 210 cups. Because of the potential for misaligned decoration on the cups, the cups may require inspection after leaving the cupping press to ensure each decoration is properly centered or positioned on the cup. Sometimes further spoilage occurs when a sheet feeder inadvertently picks up two sheets and attempts to simultaneously load them into the cupping press.

The use of individual cut sheets in the existing process creates further scrap when the circular cups are cut from the individual sheets by the cupping press. It is not possible for the cupping press to cut circular cups from the straight ends of the cut sheets, and thus scrap is left at each straight end. Because there are up to 1,000 individual sheets per coil, there can be 2,000 cut ends resulting in a significant amount of end scrap for each coil of metal when the known process is used. The existing process also produces a significant amount of edge scrap along the edges of the sheets because the cupping press of the known process can only accept a narrow sheet of metal.

In addition, the existing process requires a long production lead time and therefore manufacturers typically produce excess decorated sheets to account for expected process scrap to ensure on-time delivery of a customer's order. For example, if the customer orders 1 million closures, the manufacturer will have to purchase and decorate enough sheets to produce more than 1 million closures to account for losses and spoilage inherent in the existing process. Because it can take up to one week to apply each coating, and five or more coatings may be required to create the final decoration, the manufacturer must decorate a surplus of sheets to ensure enough closures are produced to fulfill the customer's order on-time. If the order of 1 million closures includes a decoration that requires five coatings, and each coating generates some level of spoilage, many of the spoiled sheets will have multiple coatings and will have been cured multiple times.

Due to the numerous limitations associated with the existing manufacturing and decorating process for the metallic closures described above, there is an unmet need for a process and apparatus for manufacturing ROPP closures using standard coils of aluminum stock material which are optionally decorated after the ROPP closures are formed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The problems associated with the prior art manufacturing and printing methods are addressed by the present invention, which comprises a method and apparatus of manufacturing and forming a closure. After the closure is formed, lithography or other printing techniques may optionally be used to decorate the formed closure. The present invention allows for the use of uncoated, plain, or single colored aluminum coils to manufacture closures which in one preferred embodiment are Roll on Pilfer Proof (ROPP) closures. It is one aspect of embodiments of the present invention to provide an apparatus that receives a continuous sheet of aluminum from a coil. The aluminum may optionally be pre-coated. The apparatus cuts blanks or discs from the continuous sheet, forms the blanks into cups, trims the cups to a desired length, and then forms the cups into ROPP closures. After the ROPP closures are manufactured, a Tampo or offset printing method may be used to apply customer lithography and/or other desired indicia to an exterior top, exterior sidewall, and to an inside portion of the ROPP closure. The present invention reduces the cost of producing and decorating ROPP closures by reducing or eliminating the use of wicket ovens and reducing the amount of scrap material created during manufacturing and forming of the ROPP closures. Additionally, the present invention improves efficiency by reducing stored work-in-progress and completed work inventory as well as by reducing production lead-times.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a novel process of forming a metal closure which is adapted for interconnection to a threaded neck or finish of a container is provided, comprising: (1) providing a coil of a sheet metal material; (2) aligning the sheet metal material with a cupping press; (3) feeding the sheet metal material through the cupping press; (4) cutting a plurality of blanks from the sheet metal material; and (5) forming each of the plurality of blanks into the metal closure generally comprising a predetermined shape. Optionally, the process may further include (6) pinch trimming the metal closure to a desired height. Optionally, the process may also include (7) forming at least one of a knurl, a vent, and a perforation into the metal closure; (8) forming a tamper ring into the metal closure; (9) installing a liner in an interior portion of the metal closure; (10) and decorating one or more of an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, and the interior portion of the metal closure with an indicia; and (11) forming threads on the metal closure. In one embodiment, the sheet metal material may be comprised of an aluminum alloy. In various embodiments, the sheet metal material is pre-coated with at least one of an inside coating, one or more outside coatings, and an outside base color. In another embodiment, aligning the sheet with the cupping press comprises securing the sheet in a predetermined position in relation to the cupping press. In yet another embodiment, the decorating takes place before forming the at least one knurl, vent, and perforation into the metal closure. In still another embodiment, the decorating further comprises heating or applying UV radiation to the metal closure to cure the coatings. In yet another embodiment, the metal closure is a roll on pilfer proof closure. In still another embodiment, the threads are formed on the metal closure when the metal closure is interconnected to a threaded neck of a container. In one embodiment, the blanks are circular. In another embodiment, the blanks are non-circular and are formed into metal closures of a desired height without trimming the metal closures. In still another embodiment, the cups may be drawn and re-drawn one or more times to a finished depth. In still another embodiment, the drawing and re-drawing is performed by a drawing apparatus. In yet another embodiment, the cupping press is operable to draw and re-draw the cups one or more times. In still another embodiment, both the cupping press and/or the drawing apparatus include tools to pinch trim the cups to a predetermined height. In one embodiment, the cups may be trimmed to the desired height by an optional trimming machine. The trimming machine is operable to receive the cups from either the cupping press or the drawing apparatus.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for forming a metallic closure which is adapted for interconnection to a threaded neck of a container is disclosed, the apparatus generally comprising: (1) a receiver operable to receive a portion of a coil of a sheet metal material and unwind the sheet metal material from the coil; and (2) a cupping press operable to receive the sheet metal material from the receiver, the cupping press comprising at least one guide to align the sheet metal material, at least one tool operable to cut a plurality of blanks from the sheet metal material, and at least one tool operable to form a blank of the plurality of blanks into a metallic closure having a predetermined shape and a desired height. Optionally, the apparatus may include: (3) a collector to collect the metallic closure from the cupping press; (4) a drawing apparatus operable to receive at least one of the plurality of blanks from the cupping press, the drawing apparatus comprising at least one tool operable to draw and re-draw the cup one or more times to form a metallic closure having a second predetermined shape, the drawing apparatus further comprising at least one tool operable to pinch trim the metallic closure to a desired height; (5) a trimming machine operable to receive a metallic closure from the cupping press, the collector, or the drawing apparatus, the trimming machine operable to trim the metallic closure to a desired height; (6) a mandrel operable to receive the metallic closure from the cupping press, the drawing apparatus, or the trimming machine, wherein the mandrel further comprises additional tools operable to form at least one of a knurl, a vent, and a perforation in the metallic closure; (7) a liner applicator operable to receive the metallic closure from the cupping press, the drawing apparatus, the trimming machine, or the mandrel, the liner applicator operable to install a liner in an interior portion of the metallic closure; (8) a decorator operable to receive the metallic closure from the cupping press, the drawing apparatus, the trimming machine, the mandrel, or the liner applicator, the decorator operable to decorate at least one of an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, and the interior portion of the metallic closure with an indicia to produce a decorated metallic closure; and (9) a curer operable to receive the decorated metallic closure from the decorator, the curer operable to cure the decorated metallic closure. In one embodiment, the receiver is a spindle.

In another embodiment, the cupping press is further operable to draw or pull the continuous sheet into the cupping press from a coil mounted on a spindle without the use of a separate uncoiler. In still another embodiment of the present invention the cupping press includes tools to trim or pinch trim the metallic closure to a desired height. In one embodiment, the tools of the cupping press are operable to cut circular blanks from the sheet metal material. In yet another embodiment, the cupping press includes tools to cut non-circular blanks from the sheet metal material and form a non-circular blank into a metallic closure without trimming the non-circular blank. In still another embodiment, the cupping press includes tools to form both circular and non-circular blanks from the sheet metal material.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a continuous feed apparatus for forming a metal closure which is adapted for interconnection to a threaded neck of a container is disclosed and which generally comprises: (1) a guide system operable to uncoil a continuous sheet of a metal material from a coil, the guide system operable to align the continuous sheet with a cupping press; (2) the cupping press operable to take in the continuous sheet from the guide system, and further comprising at least one tool operable to cut a plurality of blanks or discs from the sheet metal material and at least one tool operable to form the plurality of blanks into a plurality of metal closures having a predetermined shape and a desired height. Optionally, the continuous feed apparatus may include: (3) a trimming machine operable to receive the plurality of metal closures having a predetermined shape from the cupping press, the trimmer operable to trim the plurality of metal closures to a desired height.

In one embodiment, the continuous feed apparatus includes a drawing apparatus operable receive the plurality of metal closures from the cupping press and draw and re-draw the metal closures one or more times to a finished depth. In another embodiment, the continuous feed apparatus includes a decorator operable to receive the plurality of metal closures from the cupping press, the drawing apparatus, or the trimming machine, wherein the decorator is operable to decorate one or more of an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, and the interior portion of the plurality of metal closures with an indicia to produce a plurality of decorated metal closures. In yet another embodiment, the decorator is operable to form a raised or embossed profile on the exterior sidewall of the plurality of decorated metal closures. In still another embodiment, the continuous feed apparatus further includes a curer operable to receive and cure the decorated metal closures from the decorator. In another embodiment, the continuous feed apparatus further includes a mandrel operable to receive the plurality of metal closures from the cupping press, the drawing apparatus, or the trimming machine, the mandrel further comprising tools operable to form at least one of a knurl, a vent, and a perforation into the plurality of metal closures. In yet another embodiment, the mandrel may include tools operable to form a tamper ring and threads in the plurality of metal closures. In still another embodiment, the cupping press and the drawing apparatus include one or more tools to trim or pinch trim the plurality of metal closures to a desired height. In one embodiment, the cupping press includes tools to cut a plurality of non-circular blanks from the sheet metal material and to form the non-circular blanks into a plurality of metal closures. Optionally, the cupping press or the drawing apparatus may pinch trim the plurality of metal closures formed from the non-circular blanks to a desired height. The cupping press and the drawing apparatus may use any tools know to those of skill in the art to trim or pinch trim the closures.

In accordance one aspect of the present invention, the metal closures may be decorated and cured, if necessary, after the metal closures have been pinch trimmed and before forming knurl, vents, perforations, and/or a tamper ring in the metal closures. In still another embodiment, the metal closures may be decorated without being pinch trimmed. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the closures may be left undecorated and stored until needed to fulfill a customer's order. When required to fill a customer's order, the undecorated closures are removed from storage and one or more of the exterior tops, exterior sidewalls, and the interior top portions of the closures are decorated and cured if necessary. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the closures may be formed without knurls, vents, perforations, a tamper ring, threads, or a liner. Optionally, the knurls, vents, perforations, tamper ring, threads, and/or liner may be formed in the closures as specified by a customer. In still another embodiment, the metal closures may be formed without being trimmed. In yet another embodiment, the un-trimmed cups may be trimmed by an optional trimming machine.

Additional features and advantages of embodiments of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following discussion, particularly when taken together with the accompanying drawings.

References made herein to “lithography” or aspects thereof should not necessarily be construed as limiting the present invention to a particular method or type of printing or decorating of ROPP closures. It will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the present invention may be used with other printing processes such as offset printing, dry offset printing, gravure printing, intaglio printing, screen printing, tampo printing, and inkjet printing.

Although generally referred to herein as “Roll on Pilfer Proof Closures,” “ROPP closures,” and “closures,” it should be appreciated that the process of the present invention may be used to manufacture and decorate any variety of closures including ROPP closures, crown caps, and twist off caps.

The phrases “at least one,” “one or more,” and “and/or,” as used herein, are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C,” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities, dimensions, conditions, and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.”

The term “a” or “an” entity, as used herein, refers to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein.

The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Accordingly, the terms “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof can be used interchangeably herein.

It shall be understood that the term “means” as used herein shall be given its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C., Section 112, Paragraph 6. Accordingly, a claim incorporating the term “means” shall cover all structures, materials, or acts set forth herein, and all of the equivalents thereof. Further, the structures, materials, or acts and the equivalents thereof shall include all those described in the Summary of the Invention, Brief Description of the Drawings, Detailed Description, Abstract, and Claims themselves.

The Summary of the Invention is neither intended nor should it be construed as being representative of the full extent and scope of the present invention. Moreover, references made herein to “the present invention” or aspects thereof should be understood to mean certain embodiments of the present invention and should not necessarily be construed as limiting all embodiments to a particular description. The present invention is set forth in various levels of detail in the Summary of the Invention as well as in the attached drawings and the Detailed Description and no limitation as to the scope of the present invention is intended by either the inclusion or non-inclusion of elements or components. Additional aspects of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the Detailed Description, particularly when taken together with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the Summary of the Invention given above and the Detailed Description of the drawings given below serve to explain the principles of these embodiments. In certain instances, details that are not necessary for an understanding of the disclosure or that render other details difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It should be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein. Additionally, it should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art method for manufacturing and decorating a roll on pilfer proof closure using individual metal sheets; and

FIG. 2 illustrates a novel method for manufacturing a roll on pilfer proof closure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

A list of the various components shown in the drawings and associated numbering is provided herein:

Number Component 2 Coil of metal 4 Cut sheets 6 Stacked sheets 8 Sheet printer/coater 10 Wicket oven 12 Sheet cupping press 14 Cups 16 Web scrap 18 Cutout 20 Sheet end 22 Sheet edge 24 Trim ring 26 Knurls 28 Perforations 30 Tamper ring 32 ROPP closure 34 Liner 36 Coil of pre-coated metal 37 Continuous sheet 38 Coil fed cupping press 40 Cups 41 Pinch trimming 42 Drawing apparatus 44 Trimming machine 48 Decorator 50 Curing 52 Mandrel 54 Lower portion 56 ROPP closure 58 Liner applicator 60 Liner

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As discussed herein, ROPP closures are generally formed of conventional metallic materials, such as aluminum. However, the process of the present invention can be applied to ROPP closures formed of other metals or metal alloys, plastics, cardboard, paper, fiber reinforced materials, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art method for manufacturing and decorating ROPP closures is illustrated. In summary, a roll or coil 2 of uncoated metal, such as aluminum, is provided. The coil 2 is cut into approximately 1,000 individual cut sheets 4. The individual cut sheets 4 are subsequently stacked 6 in preparation for applying one or more coatings. Coatings are applied to the cut sheets 4 by a sheet printer/coater 8 and cured in a wicket oven 10. The cut sheets 4 may require five or more coatings to create the final decoration, for example: an inside lacquer, and inside glue dot, and outside lacquer basecoat, an outside lithography, and an outside lacquer overcoat. The cut sheets 4 must be sent through the printer/coater 8 and cured for each coating resulting in five or more passes through the wicket oven 10 for each cut sheet 4. While decorating, coating, and curing the cut sheets 4, all of the work in progress must be stacked 6 and stored. Because it can take up to 1 week to apply and cure just one coating required to produce a final decoration, the prior art method results in a large amount of work in progress and a correspondingly large inventory expense.

When the decoration, coating, and curing are complete, the individual sheets 4 are fed into a sheet fed cupping press 12 which cuts circular discs or blanks from the sheets 4 and forms the circular blanks into cups 14. Each cut sheet 4 results in a certain amount of scrap because the cupping press 12 cannot cut circular blanks from all areas of the cut sheets 4. Web scrap 16 is left between each of the circular cutouts 18. End and edge scrap are left at the straight ends 20 and edges 22 of the cut sheets 4 where it is also not possible to cut circular blanks

After the cupping press 12 cuts and forms the cups 14, the cups are pinch trimmed to a desired height, removing a ring 24 from each cup 14. The trimmed portions are then separated from the cups 14. The cups are subsequently loaded onto a mandrel and one or more knurls 26, vents, and perforations 28 are machined in the cups 14 to form the ROPP closure 32. The alignment and configuration of knurls, vents, and perforations on ROPP closures is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,147,123, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. A tamper ring 30 which is adapted to separate from the closure 32 to indicate to a consumer that the container has been opened can also be formed on the closure 32. Finally, a compressible wad or liner 34 is installed in an interior top of the closures 32 to aid sealing the ROPP closure 32 to the top of a container. Methods of forming liners for ROPP closures and materials used in liners are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0065528 which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The decorated ROPP closures 32 are then stored until used to seal a threaded container. After a threaded container is filled with a beverage, a decorated ROPP closure is placed over a threaded neck portion of the container. A capping apparatus forms threads on the ROPP closure by pressing an interior surface of the sidewall of the ROPP closure against the threaded neck portion of the container by methods generally known to those of skill in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a method of manufacturing a ROPP closure according to the present invention is illustrated. First, a roll or coil 36 of pre-coated metal, such as aluminum, is provided. In one embodiment, the coil 36 may have one or more of an inside coating, an outside coating, and/or an outside base color. Using a pre-coated metal reduces production cost and decreases production time by eliminating the need for curing the top and bottom surfaces of the coil 36 during production of the ROPP closures. However, in one embodiment, an uncoated coil may be provided and a top and a bottom side of the metal may be simultaneously coated and cured if necessary.

The coil 36 is positioned in a receiver that is operable to unwind the coil 36. In one embodiment, the receiver is a spindle. The receiver may include an uncoiler and a feeder with draw pads operable to pull the continuous sheet 37 from the coil 36. The receiver feeds the continuous sheet 37 into a coil-fed cupping press 38. The sheet 37 is registered or aligned with edge guides in the cupping press 38 that keep the sheet 37 in a predetermined position with respect to tools in the cupping press 38. The tools in the cupping press 38 cut blanks or discs from the continuous sheet 37 and form the blanks into cups 40 having a predetermined shape. The tools in the cupping press 38 may include stamps, knives, punches, dies, draw pads, hold downs, trimmers, and/or rams. In one embodiment, the cupping press 38 is operable to pull the continuous sheet 37 into the cupping press 38 from the coil 36 without the use of a separate uncoiler.

The cups 40 may optionally be pinch trimmed 41 to a desired height by the tools of the cupping press 38. The pinch trimming 41 may be performed by any method and tools known to those of skill in the art. The cups may optionally include a skirt after being pinch trimmed 41 by the cupping press 38. In one embodiment, an optional trimming machine 44 is operable to receive the cups 40 from the cupping press 38 or the collector. The optional trimming machine 44 is operable to trim the cups 40 to a desired height. In another embodiment, the cupping press 38 includes tools to draw and re-draw the cups one or more times to a finished depth. In still another embodiment, the cupping press 38 includes tools operable to cut non-circular blanks from the continuous sheet 37. The non-circular blanks are then formed into cups of a desired height by the tools of the cupping press 38 without being trimmed by the cupping press 38 or an optional dedicated trimmer 44. Optionally, cups formed from the non-circular blanks can be pinch trimmed 41 by the tools of the cupping press 38 or an optional trimming machine 44.

A collector receives the cups 40 from the cupping press 38. In some embodiments, a redraw press or drawing apparatus 42 may optionally receive the cups from the cupping press 38 or the collector. The drawing apparatus 42 is operable to draw and/or redraw the cups 40 one or more times to achieve a cup having a second predetermined shape. The drawing apparatus 42 may include punches, pressure sleeves, blank and draw dies, draw pads, knives, trimmers, and/or a ram to push the cups through the dies. Optionally, the cups 40 are pinch trimmed 41A to a desired height by the tools of the drawing apparatus 42. In one embodiment, the cups 40 may be trimmed to a desired height by an optional trimming machine 44A. After trimming, the cups may optionally include a skirt.

Running the continuous sheet 37 of metal through the cupping press 38 is more efficient than the use of cut sheets 4 in the existing process. A continuous sheet 37 results in less end scrap metal from each coil 36 than the existing process because each sheet 37 has only two cut ends where the cupping press 38 cannot cut complete blanks In addition, the coil-fed cupping press 38 can process sheets 37 that are wider than the width of the cut sheets 4 used by the sheet-fed cupping press 12 of the existing process, further reducing scrap because more blanks can be cut in each row. This reduction in the amount of scrap results in a production of approximately 220,000 to 242,000 cups per coil 36, a 5% to 10% increase in cups 40 compared to the prior art method described in conjunction with FIG. 1. Scrap may be further reduced by cutting non-circular blanks from the sheets 37. The tools of the cupping press can be aligned to cut the non-circular blanks in a plurality of orientations to reduce the amount of web-scrap left between each of cutouts formed by the non-circular blanks In one embodiment, the cupping press 38 can simultaneously cut both circular and non-circular blanks from the sheets 37 further reducing scrap. In addition, because the sheet 37 has not been decorated, no scrap can be produced due to a non-centered decoration or misaligned decoration. Therefore, there is no requirement to inspect the cups 40 for print alignment after the cups 40 are formed by the cupping press 38.

In one embodiment, the undecorated cups are stored after leaving the cupping press 38, the drawing apparatus 42, or the trimming machine 44, 44A until needed to fill a customer's order. The undecorated cups may subsequently be trimmed, decorated, cured, and knurls, vents, and perforations formed on the cups as required to fulfill the customer's order.

The cups 40 may optionally be decorated on an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, or an interior surface portion by a decorator 48 using an offset printing method. A UV cured non-varnish ink or any other suitable ink or coating may be applied to the cups 40 by the decorator 48. Optionally, the cups 40 may be run through the decorator 48 multiples times to receive multiple coatings. If necessary, the cups 40 are washed and dried prior to being decorated.

The present invention reduces the amount of scrap produced during decoration because calibrating the decorator 48 to decorate the individual cups 40 is easier than calibrating the printer/coater 8 used to decorate cut sheets 4. Calibration of the decorator 48 generally takes only a few cups 40 instead of the one or more entire cut sheets 4 of metal that may be required to calibrate the sheet printer/coater 8 in the prior art method described above. The present invention further reduces the amount of scrap produced because there is no requirement to orient the cups 40 in the decorator 48 during decoration since there is no “up” or “down” orientation on a circular exterior top surface of a cup 40.

If necessary, the coatings used to decorate the cups 40 may be cured 50 using methods known to those skilled in the art, including thermal curing (for example, in a bake oven at a temperature of greater than approximately 350° F.) or ultraviolet light curing. It will be appreciated that the decorated cups 40 may be cured using any suitable method as recognized by one of skill in the art.

Optionally, the cups 40 are loaded onto a mandrel 52 that includes tools operable to form one or more knurls 26, vents, and a plurality of perforations 28 in the cups 40 to produce the ROPP closure 56. Optionally, a tamper band or ring 30 comprising perforations, partial cut-outs, and/or bridges may be formed in the ROPP closure 56 by the tools of the mandrel 52. The tamper ring 30 is adapted to separate from the ROPP closure 56 and leave a lower portion 54 on a neck of a container when the ROPP closure 56 is removed, thereby indicating that the container has been opened yet allowing the liquid in the container to be dispensed from the container. The mandrel 52 includes knives, punches, and other tools operable to form the knurls, vent, perforations, and tamper ring. In one optional embodiment, when crown caps are being manufactured, the cups 40 may not receive knurls, vents, perforations, or tamper features.

Optionally, a liner applicator 58 installs a liner 60 in an interior top portion of the closures 56 to aid sealing between a top of an opening of the container and the ROPP closure 56. When installing the liner 60, the closures 56 may be heated and an extruded plastic wad is placed inside the closures 56. The liner applicator 58 may include a water cooled form tool to compress the plastic wad and form a profiled liner 60. In an embodiment, a flat cut disk of liner material may be applied by the applicator 58 to form the liner 60 in a method as is known by those skilled in the art.

The ROPP closures 56 can be decorated by a decorator 48A after the knurls, vents, and perforations are formed or after installation of the optional liner 60. The decorator 48A can apply an ultraviolet cured non-varnish ink to an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, or an interior surface portion of the ROPP closures 56 using an offset printing method. The ROPP closures 56 may optionally be sent through the decorator 48A multiples times if necessary to create the finished decoration. The coatings used to decorate the ROPP closures 56 can be cured 50A using a thermal or ultraviolet light process if the optional liner 60 has not been installed. If a liner 60 is installed in the ROPP closures 56 before the closures are decorated, the coatings are cured 50A using an ultraviolet light process.

In one optional embodiment, the cups 40 may be decorated by a decorator 48 before the knurls, vents, and perforations are formed in cups and, after installation of a the liner 60, a second decoration may be applied to the ROPP closures 56 by a decorator 48A and cured 50A as needed. In another embodiment, the decorator 48A further comprises a mandrel and embossing tools. The embossing tools comprise rollers with contact surfaces with a shape predetermined to form a raised or embossed profile or indicia onto one or more of the exterior top and the exterior sidewall of the ROPP closure 56. The decorator 48A may further comprise tools, such as an abrasive tool, polisher, or grinder, to selectively remove coatings from a predetermined exterior surface portion of the embossed profile of the ROPP closure 56 to produce a ROPP closure 56 with a bare metal embossed decoration on the exterior top and/or the exterior sidewall portion. Optionally, the bare metal embossed decoration can be decorated with coatings by the decorator 48A. In one embodiment, the embossing tools of the decorator 48A form an embossed profile or indicia on one or more of the exterior top portion and/or the exterior sidewall portion before coatings are applied to the exterior top portion and/or the exterior sidewall portion of the ROPP closure 56.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, ROPP closures 56 may optionally be manufactured without decoration and stored until needed to fulfill a customer's order. The undecorated ROPP closures may then be removed from storage and one or more of the exterior tops, exterior sidewalls, or the interior surfaces of the ROPP closures decorated and cured as required. In another embodiment, closures may be manufactured without knurls, vents, or perforations. One or more knurls, vents, and/or perforations may then be formed in the closures as required according to a customer's specifications. Optionally, when the closures are interconnected to a threaded neck of a container, knurls, vents, and/or perforations may be formed in the closure. In yet another embodiment, threads may be formed on the closures. In still another embodiment, threads may be formed on the closures by a capping apparatus when the closures are interconnected to a threaded neck of a container by methods known to those of skill in the art.

The method of the present invention has many benefits compared to prior art methods of manufacturing and decorating ROPP closures. Metal suppliers generally charge less for a coil of metal than for an equivalent amount of metal that has been cut into sheets. The wide coils of metal used in the present invention are also generally less expensive than the cost of an equivalent amount of material in the narrow sheets required for the prior art method. Calibrating lithography for individual cups is easier, results in less waste, and is generally performed more quickly than sheet printer/coater set-up for the cut sheets used in the prior art method. Thus, it is less expensive to set up and calibrate a label, decoration, or other indicia for individual cups compared to the prior art method. Because less scrap is produced using the method of the present invention, the amount of extra product produced to ensure customer orders are filled is reduced. Production time is also reduced using the method of the present invention, decreasing work-in-progress inventory costs. The reduced production time results in a reduction of production lead-time. Production lead-time is further reduced because undecorated closures are fungible and may be used to fulfill any customer's order. A new order, or an order from a preferred customer, can be quickly filled by applying a final decoration to pre-manufactured undecorated closures that are removed from storage or to undecorated closures that are currently in production.

The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of the invention to the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiments described and shown in the figures were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it is apparent that modifications and alterations of those embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. Moreover, references made herein to “the present invention” or aspects thereof should be understood to mean certain embodiments of the present invention and should not necessarily be construed as limiting all embodiments to a particular description. It is to be expressly understood that such modifications and alterations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention, as set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of forming a metal closure which is adapted for interconnection to a neck of a threaded metallic container, comprising: providing a coil of a sheet metal material; aligning the sheet metal material with a cupping press; feeding the sheet metal material through the cupping press; cutting a plurality of discs from the sheet metal material; and forming each of the plurality of discs into a plurality of metal closures.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sheet metal material is comprised of an aluminum alloy.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sheet metal material is pre-coated with at least one of an inside coating, an outside coating, and an outside base color.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of each of the plurality of discs includes drawing and re-drawing each of the plurality of discs one or more times to a finished depth.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising decorating one or more of an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, and an interior top portion of the plurality of metal closures with an indicia.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising curing the metal closure, the curing comprising heating or applying UV radiation to the plurality of metal closures.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming at least one of a knurl, a vent, and a perforation in the plurality of metal closures.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising forming threads on the plurality of metal closures.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the metal closure is a roll on pilfer proof closure.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising installing a liner in an interior top portion of the plurality of metal closures.
 11. An apparatus for forming a metallic closure which is adapted for interconnection to a threaded neck of a container, comprising: a receiver operable to receive a portion of a coil of a sheet metal material and unwind the sheet metal material from the coil; and a cupping press operable to receive the sheet metal material from said receiver, said cupping press comprising at least one guide to align the sheet metal material, at least one tool operable to cut a plurality of blanks from the sheet metal material, and at least one tool operable to form a blank of said plurality of blanks into the metallic closure.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a drawing apparatus operable to receive at least one of said plurality of blanks from said cupping press, said drawing apparatus comprising at least one tool operable to draw and re-draw said blank one or more times to form the metallic closure.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a mandrel operable to receive said metallic closure from said cupping press, wherein said mandrel further comprises additional tools operable to form at least one of a knurl, a vent, and a perforation in said metallic closure.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a decorator operable to receive said metallic closure from said cupping press, said decorator operable to decorate at least one of an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, and the interior top portion of said metallic closure with an indicia to produce a decorated metallic closure.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a curer operable to receive said decorated metallic closure from said decorator, said curer operable to cure said decorated metallic closure.
 16. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising a liner applicator operable to receive said metallic closure from said cupping press, said liner applicator operable to install a liner in an interior top portion of said metallic closure.
 17. A continuous feed apparatus for forming a metal closure which is adapted for interconnection to a threaded neck of a container, comprising: a guide system, said guide system operable to uncoil a continuous sheet of a metal material from a coil, said guide system operable to align said continuous sheet with a cupping press; said cupping press operable to take in said continuous sheet from said guide system, and further comprising at least one tool operable to cut a plurality of blanks from the sheet metal material and at least one tool operable to form said plurality of blanks into a plurality of metal closures.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a drawing apparatus operable to receive said plurality of metal closures from said cupping press, said drawing apparatus operable to draw and re-draw the plurality of metal closures one or more times to a finished depth.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a decorator operable to receive said plurality of metal closures from said cupping press, said decorator operable to decorate one or more of an exterior top, an exterior sidewall, and an interior top portion of said plurality of metal closures with an indicia to produce a plurality of decorated metal closures.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said decorator is operable to form a raised product indicia on the exterior sidewall of said plurality of decorated metal closures. 